Murska Sobota, Castle

The castle stands on a flat piece of land in the middle of the town, in the axis of an extensive park arranged in landscape style that stretches from the monument of the NOB - National Liberation War (1945, architect Arončik) to the castle itself. It was designed in the shape of a regular Renaissance castle at the end of the 16th century, probably at the location of its predecessor form the 13th century. It was redone before the middle of the 18th century. The ground floor has a four sided gravel inner courtyard and four edge wings of the same height. On the outer corners four towers with a square floor plan stand out, not surpassing the basic height of the building. On the west side a Baroque Chapel has been added on to the fortress. The castle was owned by different feudal lords, among the most famous were the Széchys and Szápárys.

On the east side the representational Baroque gate portal with two atlantes figures accentuates the scheme. They were set under the balcony, which was restored in 1976. The exterior has more modest architectural decoration except for the gate portal and the north façade, which accentuates the festival hall. In the 1960s Feri Novak planned an extension with a new hall. The latter was adapted by the architects Vesna and Matej Vozlič in 1988. The façades were renovated in 1992.

The festival hall on the first floor in the wing with the balcony is decorated with fresco and stuccowork. The allegory of Peace may have been painted by Johannes Pockel. In the castle, the collection of the Regional Museum (Pokrajinski muzej) is exhibited on the first floor. The high quality arrangement by Vladimir Pezdirec leads from pre-history to Antiquity and the Middle Ages, thorough Romanesque, Gothic and to Baroque. Special mention is made of the Jews and their stay in Prekmurje, rural life, development after incorporation into the first Yugoslavia, and the suffering in World War II. The exhibition is concluded with an interesting collection of life in the first half of the 20th century. The museum in the castle is open regularly.